It was sad yesterday hearing that Naomi Judd had taken her life, as is sad anytime hearing of anyone having done so. Today that’s been on my mind, along with the complexities of depression. Obviously depression can be caused by many things, often life events; however, sometimes it’s due to chemical or hormonal imbalances. There is no one best way to help, and often depression is kept private and may not even be known to others, even those who are closest.

In psychology classes I was taught that depression is anger turned inward; however, I wouldn’t say it always involves anger, but for sure it involves inwardness. When studying psychology, the theory that struck me most and continues to seem so true to life, is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Applied and simplified, you have to be okay with you before you are able to be there for anyone else. Combining thoughts, one “stuck” being inward focused due to depression, isn’t necessarily able to focus outwardly on others.

It occurred to me today that sometimes we may view someone as self-centered, but is that self-centeredness egocentrism, narcissism, or….is it depression? How often do we misread people? Or not notice them at all? Depression is an inwardness, but it isn’t selfishness in the usual sense of the word.

I’ve heard some characterize suicide as “selfish,” but really that’s a mischaracterization. Inward focused, yes, but selfish implies a disregard for others—it isn’t about disregarding others, it’s about the inability to see past self because self is too broken.

I’ve said several times to those grieving someone who was terminally ill, that sometimes death is the ultimate healing. Unfortunately sometimes depression may reach such a level of hopelessness, that someone may give up. And of course those left behind our especially filled with questions of what they might have done to have prevented it. But depression is complex and often private with no one size fits all solution. Unfortunately there are no easy or necessarily “right” answers.

To read more of Jo Gamm Witt's writings,
CLICK HERE

Email

Web Design by

WittPublishing.com